That message emerged from Thursday's roundtable discussion between activists among Latino and Paiute communities along with government officials held at a Zions Bank conference room in St. George.

Damon Polk, a Paiute Tribe of Utah substance abuse counselor, said an important issue is a deep distrust among tribal members toward police based on past confrontations.

Polk said if Paiutes saw tribal officials working with police officers in positive situations it would help change misperceptions.

"We have to get beyond distrust and fear," Polk said. "We have to get beyond current perceptions."

Washington County Sheriff Kirk Smith said he is trying to build bridges with the tribe, whose Shivwits Reservation is located 12 miles west of St. George.

Smith is aware prejudices exist toward Paiutes in Washington County, but said some headway has been made in improving relations.

"[Prejudices] have been developing for probably 150 years that we need to break down and I believe we're making progress," Smith said.

Armando Porras, a Latino community business owner, said what's needed to strengthen bonds and build trust among different racial groups is education among themselves.

"We all have different backgrounds and culture," he said. "To reach each other [Latinos] we need to educate ourselves. To learn English, to learn about the culture we're in and importance of obeying the law."

His concerns were echoed by Reyna Harvie, a bank manager active in Latino affairs, who stressed the importance of Latinos assimilating into their adopted culture.

Parents should also take a role in educating children and discouraging them from dressing and acting like gang-bangers, Harvie said.

"I tell [young people] the image is a negative one, and if they want to dress like that, they don't represent me," Harvie said.

Matt Loo, a St. George city employee, said minorities who are successful should teach others.

"We have to do it from within," he said. "We're like pebbles in a pond and must ripple out from the center."

After the meeting, St. George Police Chief Marvin Stratton said he was pleased with the meeting.

"It was successful," he said."Through communication we can forge real developments."

mhavnes@sltrib.com